Observation / Reflection #5: The Game of School
In The Passionate Teacher, Ron Fried describes the Game of School (GOS) as what happens when teachers and students forsake intellectual work and instead engage in their classes as rituals. Take this opportunity to consider this chapter in light of some of the the other experiences that you've had this semester. What elements of the game of school are you seeing in your placements? How have you seen teachers fight the game of school in their classes? What similarities, if any, did you see between the descriptions of American classes in the Teaching Gap and the Game of School? Finally, what impact will this description of the GOS have on your own approach to teaching as expressed in your teaching philosophy?
Observations:
In my placement, there are a few things I have noticed that resemble the game of school. For one, the students get into a routine and know what to do when they come into each class. This is actually a good infuence of the game of school. Another aspect is how the students just expect to be taught everything they will need to know on tests and do not take much responsibility for their learning. This is a one of the big differences between high school and college. My CT resists this by trying to communicate with the students that they need to individually study and review everything they do in class in order to learn it. She also constantly reminds them that they need to break up the work and study a little each night before the test. The students also think that as long as they have their notebook out and generally look like they have a clue what is going on, that the teacher will think so too. My CT resists this by reading clues students give her that they are paying attention like asking questions, nodding etc.. She comments that when a student is quiet all class, or avoids eye contact, that they might be off in their own land so to bring them back by either making eye contact, or asking if they understand, or asking a question referencing the lesson. A final way my CT resists aspects of the game of school is by not scaling the grading and giving students the letter grade that is best represented by their tests, quizzes and classwork. This sometimes raises conflict when a student receives a grade that he or she doesn't believe they deserve but with all the grades available to reference back on, Ms. Malone can show the student where their grade came from. By doing this, the student learns the hard way that their teacher follows the grade breakdown strictly, and that they must put in more effort than they have been in order to succeed in this class.
Reflections:
I think that by being a strict honors teacher, my CT gets her point across that by being in these more challenging classes, the game of school will not work. The students signed a contract in the beginning of the year that proved they acknowledged the fact thatbthisnis a more challenging class and they must be willing as students to put in more effort than they have been required to do so in the past. Taking an honors class requires that the student gives up habits of "appearing" to be engaged and actually try. Ms. Malone follows the schools policy on rules and regulations, as well as expects the most from her students. In this way, she resists the game of school and communicates to the students that they will not float by and get an A if they are only willing to put in the minimum amount of work required. Upon reading about the game of school, I learned as a teacher how simple techniques can communicate to the students that they must give a valiant effort. As a semi recent high school graduate, I hope to recognize ways students will cut corners, cheat, and slack off. By remembering common trends of students, I hope to be preventative in my actions and only reactive if I see something occurring in front of me. I plan to minimize cell phone usage by making sure eye contact is made with each individual student. I plan to check that students are on task by asking thought provoking questions, and I plan to give home works and assignments that foster higher level of blooms taxonomy thinking so students cannot copy and cheat.
Class Topic: skull anatomy
Grade: 12th
Observed by: Kathryn Capone
Observation / Reflection #5: The Game of School
In The Passionate Teacher, Ron Fried describes the Game of School (GOS) as what happens when teachers and students forsake intellectual work and instead engage in their classes as rituals. Take this opportunity to consider this chapter in light of some of the the other experiences that you've had this semester. What elements of the game of school are you seeing in your placements? How have you seen teachers fight the game of school in their classes? What similarities, if any, did you see between the descriptions of American classes in the Teaching Gap and the Game of School? Finally, what impact will this description of the GOS have on your own approach to teaching as expressed in your teaching philosophy?
Observations:
In my placement, there are a few things I have noticed that resemble the game of school. For one, the students get into a routine and know what to do when they come into each class. This is actually a good infuence of the game of school. Another aspect is how the students just expect to be taught everything they will need to know on tests and do not take much responsibility for their learning. This is a one of the big differences between high school and college. My CT resists this by trying to communicate with the students that they need to individually study and review everything they do in class in order to learn it. She also constantly reminds them that they need to break up the work and study a little each night before the test. The students also think that as long as they have their notebook out and generally look like they have a clue what is going on, that the teacher will think so too. My CT resists this by reading clues students give her that they are paying attention like asking questions, nodding etc.. She comments that when a student is quiet all class, or avoids eye contact, that they might be off in their own land so to bring them back by either making eye contact, or asking if they understand, or asking a question referencing the lesson. A final way my CT resists aspects of the game of school is by not scaling the grading and giving students the letter grade that is best represented by their tests, quizzes and classwork. This sometimes raises conflict when a student receives a grade that he or she doesn't believe they deserve but with all the grades available to reference back on, Ms. Malone can show the student where their grade came from. By doing this, the student learns the hard way that their teacher follows the grade breakdown strictly, and that they must put in more effort than they have been in order to succeed in this class.
Reflections:
I think that by being a strict honors teacher, my CT gets her point across that by being in these more challenging classes, the game of school will not work. The students signed a contract in the beginning of the year that proved they acknowledged the fact thatbthisnis a more challenging class and they must be willing as students to put in more effort than they have been required to do so in the past. Taking an honors class requires that the student gives up habits of "appearing" to be engaged and actually try. Ms. Malone follows the schools policy on rules and regulations, as well as expects the most from her students. In this way, she resists the game of school and communicates to the students that they will not float by and get an A if they are only willing to put in the minimum amount of work required. Upon reading about the game of school, I learned as a teacher how simple techniques can communicate to the students that they must give a valiant effort. As a semi recent high school graduate, I hope to recognize ways students will cut corners, cheat, and slack off. By remembering common trends of students, I hope to be preventative in my actions and only reactive if I see something occurring in front of me. I plan to minimize cell phone usage by making sure eye contact is made with each individual student. I plan to check that students are on task by asking thought provoking questions, and I plan to give home works and assignments that foster higher level of blooms taxonomy thinking so students cannot copy and cheat.
Class Topic: skull anatomy
Grade: 12th
Observed by: Kathryn Capone